CORTISOL AWAKENING RESPONSE

[Redlester]

I came across this via a Datis Kharrazian email I received today.

"From the moment your eyes open in the morning, your cortisol levels should rise by 50 to 150 percent and then gradually decline throughout the day. In other words, you should wake up feeling alert, energized, and ready to charge into the day.

However, many people with chronic health problems struggle to get out of bed each morning and take hours to feel more alert. Believe it or not, this impacts how well you can manage your blood sugar stability.

One of the most important physiological tests that has been identified in the last 15 years is the cortisol awakening response, which measures a persons cortisol levels in their saliva within the first half hour of waking up and how those levels compare to the rest of the day. This is not the same as an adrenal salivary panel.

Hundreds of published systematic reviews and meta analysis papers have been published showing an abnormal cortisol awakening response is associated with a higher risk of mood disorders, depression, various neuropsychiatric imbalances, poor recovery from workouts, and poor energy usage and efficiency.

Practitioners with a poor grasp of physiology may be tempted to pass this off as an adrenal gland problem, but it’s much more complex than that — it involves the entire neuroendocrine system, or the relationship between the nervous system and the hormonal system.

For example, once you open your eyes in the morning, light hits your optic nerves, which then fires into the pineal system, which regulates your hormones. Your pineal system then fires into the suprachiasmatic nucleus, a tiny center in the brain’s hypothalamus that regulates your sleep-wake cycle and hormones, such as cortisol and melatonin.

This entire process also helps regulate sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system function while integrating other areas of the brain that play a role in controlling the sleep-wake cycles, or circadian rhythm.

In other words, if this mechanism isn’t functioning properly, it is far more intricate and in depth than needing adrenal glandular supplements. In fact, the cortisol awakening response test is a way to measure the efficiency of the entire neuroendocrine system, and it's surprising how many people have a dysfunctional cortisol awakening response.

One key aspect of managing a blood sugar imbalance is that you have to re-establish the cortisol awakening response.

Rather than throw a bunch of supplements at this dysfunction, one of the most effective things you can do is engage in five to seven minutes of high intensity exercise within the first 10 minutes of waking up.

Another option is to wake up using a sunrise simulation alarm clock.

These two methods help slowly re-establish the cortisol awakening response.

A healthy cortisol awakening response is vital not only for blood sugar stability, but also for general adrenal function and the integration of the entire neuroendocrine system."

Apologies for it being so long but as someone who seems to struggle with precisely what he is describing [don't wake up alert and struggle in the morning] and is about to source salivary adrenal testing I thought it was very interesting, and wondered whether others had come across this and what people think of it.

[Redlester]

sadly, no and I'm probably in the same boat re the intense exercise early in the morning hence why I poste. hopefully others might have ideas!!

[Mostew]

Try alternating hands for good work!!!!!

[Mostew]

Out

[Mostew]

Workout !!!

[Yulia2010]

Excellent information, thank you!

[nightingale-56]

The sunrise simulation alarm clock sounds the best bet. Interesting post. Thank you.

[Redlester in reply to nightingale-56]

I'm actually going to give the high intensity exercise a go [weather permitting!!!] and will report back to see if it makes any difference.

[nightingale-56 in reply to Redlester]

Let us know how you get on. I actually meant the clock would be the best bet for my son as he already walks for 30 minutes each day and could not manage any more exercise. My knees would not let me do intense exercise anymore and not much walking. Back exercises given by Physio is as much as I can manage, but keeps me going.

[Redlester in reply to nightingale-56]

I would struggle with the clock personally as sleep is a massive issue for me and I find it really hard to get up in the mornings - so I am going to try with the exercise to start off with in the hope that in the longer term it might improve the sleep and hence the getting up in the mornings. I hate having an alarm clock of any type in my bedroom - it's just me - but try the clock for your son maybe and also let me know how he gets on with that too. And when I am talking about intense exercise, I am talking about maybe some star jumps followed by a very brisk 15 minute walk around the block - that is about as high intensity as it would get with me, but must surely be better than starting the day slumped in a chair, and will be interesting to see if it makes any difference. Going to find it hard postponing the wake-up cuppa though!!!

[asidist]

getting outside asap (pref as close to sunrise as possible) for a 20 -30 minute light walk is often recommended by sleep specialists and meets both criteria, but for me sometimes i’m so tired that it takes me a good 45 mins (err or longer) to get ready to go for the walk. trying to better. it’s also much easier to do when on the proper dose of thyroid hormone

[Redlester in reply to asidist]

I am currently being treated for adrenal fatigue so am concentrating on that for the moment and will look at CAR later on down the line if I can - it isn't a priority for me at the moment.

[asidist]

apologies - had come across this thread in doing a search on something else and replied impulsively in case helpful - had failed to look at your more recent posts. best of luck.

[Redlester in reply to asidist]

No worries - thanks for good wishes - your advice is good about getting exposed to light as early as possible. I am using an alarm to get me up so that I can eat before taking my ACE at 9.30am and so far it is working - haven't missed a day yet which is quite a revolution for me who formerly was so sleep deprived no amount was ever enough and I could barely drag myself out of bed before 11.30am and was still exhausted. Still fatigued now though so obvs have long way to go after likely being hypo adrenal for 20+ years.

[asidist in reply to Redlester]

ugh that sounds awful - adrenal issues are something i feel i cannot even begin to wrap my head around. i’m glad you’re feeling better and hope you continue to improve. one step at a time. do you mean you use a sunrise alarm or just a regular alarm clock?

[Redlester in reply to asidist]

Yes it is pretty awful!!

It is just a regular alarm clock and I have to set it twice - once to take my T3 during the night and then a second time to get myself up in time to get breakfast and take the ACE before 9.30am. At times when it goes off I'm not sure whether I am taking T3 or it is time to get up for breakfast!!!

I found the 2 chapters in the STTM book about adrenals very helpful and Paul Robinson also has good information in his CT3M protocol which I hope to transition to when I taper off the ACE to see if his protocol which is supposed to help treat adrenals works for me. If you do manage to get the hang of the adrenal situation then it helps with the thyroid situation and indeed if I hadn't tested cortisol and begun to use the ACE I'd have got nowhere with the thyroid treatment.